Hundreds of African migrants die in shipwreck off Libya's coast

ByLiam Stack, CorrespondentMarch 31, 2009

Dangerous journey: An undated video grab from Libyan television footage shows rescued African migrants arriving at the port of Tripoli. More than 300 Africans, including women and children, are feared to have drowned after their boats capsized off Libya during a new upsurge of illegal migration to Europe, officials said Tuesday.

Hundreds of African and Arab migrants are feared dead after several rickety boats smuggling them to a better life in Europe ran into trouble off the coast of Libya. One boat is confirmed to have sunk in choppy seas kicked up by strong winds from the Libyan interior.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Mr. Chauzy said that several boats had left Libya in the past two days, each carrying hundreds of people, and that three may have sunk. A fourth was towed back to shore, with 356 migrants on board.

Agence-France Presse reports that the Libyan coast guard is currently looking for the other two boats, but that IOM officials caution that it is not clear “if these are fishing boats or had migrants on board.”

Libya has become an increasingly popular destination for poor migrants seeking passage to Europe, and for human traffickers willing to smuggle them there. For usually exorbitant sums, migrants can pay human traffickers to smuggle them to the small Italian island of Lampedusa on overloaded, unseaworthy ships.